True Disciple

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed.

Li Gan's cultivation at Chenzhong Terrace was tranquil and peaceful.

Years of living alone had long since made him accustomed to solitude; he did not feel lonely in the slightest.

With the aid of the bell tolls, his cultivation progressed smoothly, reaching the ninth layer of the postnatal realm.

His comprehension of heartless sword intent was much slower, currently sitting at only twenty-some progress points.

He discovered that the efficiency of comprehending heartless sword intent decreased as the progress increased.

At the beginning, he could gain one point every seven days.

But now, it took nearly ten days to increase by a single point.

That afternoon.

Li Gan had just finished his cultivation when he heard someone calling for him from outside.

"Senior Brother Li."

He looked out toward the exterior of the bell tower and saw a young man.

"Is there something you need, Junior Brother?"

Li Gan asked.

"Senior Brother Li, I am from the Chore Hall. Following the Hall Master's orders, I have come to report that someone claiming to be sent by your family wishes to see you."

The young man said hurriedly.

"I won't see them."

Li Gan's heart stirred. Could it be someone from the Li family of Baibi City?

However, he couldn't be bothered to meet them.

In his heart, he had already completely severed ties with the Li family of Baibi City.

He was merely a transmigrator from Earth in his past life.

As for the family of this body, they had nothing to do with him.

Furthermore, his predecessor had run away from home to participate in the Divine Sword Sect's entrance exam with the intention of cutting off all contact with his family.

"Senior Brother Li, then I shall return and report this."

The young man said quickly.

"Hmm, go ahead."

Li Gan waved his hand.

Chore Hall.

A middle-aged man, accompanied by several servants, was waiting in a state of unease.

He had been sent by the master, Li Donglin, and was the steward of the Li mansion.

After a long wait, footsteps finally echoed, and a man walked in. "Steward Xu, I am truly sorry, but Senior Brother Li of the inner sect does not wish to see you."

This was Xu Wei, the deputy hall master of the Chore Hall.

He was being very polite.

Even if Li Gan did not want to see his family, that was merely a conflict between Li Gan and his kin.

If he were to be negligent, he might end up offending an inner disciple.

"The young master doesn't want to see me?"

The middle-aged Steward Xu's expression shifted.

He had come under the orders of the master to see the young master, and the matter was of great importance.

He couldn't just return like this without even seeing him, could he?

"Hall Master Xu, could you take me to the young master's place of cultivation? I really have something important to discuss with him," Steward Xu said hurriedly.

"Steward Xu, it's not that I don't want to take you, but the sect has its rules. Furthermore, Senior Brother Li has not given his consent. If I were to take you up the mountain without authorization, I fear it would displease him."

Hall Master Xu shook his head.

Steward Xu knew that in such a martial arts sect, the rules were strict. If he couldn't see the young master, how was he supposed to deliver the item into his hands?

He gritted his teeth and immediately made a decision. "Hall Master Xu, how about this? I have an item here that needs to be handed over to the young master. Could you send someone to deliver it?"

As he spoke, he took a half-foot-long wooden box from the parcel he was carrying.

The wooden box was sealed with a special lacquer seal, primarily used for transporting special, valuable items. By checking the lacquer seal, one could determine if the box had been opened.

An official family like the Li family of Baibi City naturally had their own unique lacquer seals, which were difficult for outsiders to imitate.

When Hall Master Xu saw the lacquer seal on the wooden box, he immediately understood that it was likely no ordinary object. This was to be expected; anything sent to an official inner disciple would certainly be of great value.

"Very well."

Hall Master Xu nodded and said.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Hall Master Xu."

As Steward Xu spoke, he slipped a gold banknote into Hall Master Xu's hand without leaving a trace.

Hall Master Xu took a glance at it and did not refuse.

Atop the bell tower.

Li Gan sat cross-legged with a precious sword resting horizontally on a rack in front of him.

At this moment, he was using his own heartless sword intent to sense the sword.

This was a very unique method of nurturing a sword.

Using one's own sword intent to nourish the blade.

This sword-nurturing technique had been taught to him by his master, Zhou Buping.

As the connection between the sword intent and the blade deepened day by day, the swordsmanship unleashed would become even more powerful.

If nurtured for a long enough time, the sword even had the chance to transform into a divine sword.

For a xiantian martial artist of the Divine Sword Sect, nurturing a divine sword of one's own was the best path.

Hum!

As the sword intent communicated with the blade, the sword resting on the rack began to vibrate slightly.

He had not used any internal qi.

This was entirely caused by the sword intent nourishing the blade.

A long while later, he let out a long breath, feeling his mind slightly fatigued.

Nurturing a sword was very mentally draining.

Suddenly, he stood up and looked outside the bell tower; someone else had come up.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Li."

The newcomer cupped his hands and said.

"Hall Master Xu, didn't I say I wasn't seeing anyone?"

Li Gan said.

"Senior Brother Li, someone from your family asked me to deliver this item to you."

Hall Master Xu spoke hurriedly.

Li Gan looked at the wooden box in Hall Master Xu's hands, his brows furrowed. He moved instantly, drifting down to land before Hall Master Xu, reaching out to snatch the wooden box away.

The lacquer seal on top was something he remembered from his predecessor's memories; it was unique to the Li family of Baibi City.

He tore off the lacquer seal and opened the wooden box.

Upon opening it, Li Gan saw a thick stack of gold banknotes.

He made a rough estimate—there were likely several thousand taels.

Although transactions within the Divine Sword Sect were conducted using contribution points, gold and silver remained the primary currency for measuring the value of cultivation resources in the outside world.

One tael of gold was worth approximately one hundred taels of silver.

The amount of silver in this world was far greater than gold, so the exchange rate could not be compared to his previous life.

These thousands of taels in gold banknotes were not a small sum.

For the Li family of Baibi City to bring this out, it would likely hurt their foundations.

Are they trying to use the family's savings to support my martial arts training? Heh, what a pity. I have no use for these in my current cultivation.

Li Gan sneered inwardly.

The daily cultivation resources provided by the Divine Sword Sect, combined with the subsidies from his master Zhou Buping, were already enough to satisfy his cultivation needs.

The existence of the Chen bell provided him with too much assistance in his cultivation.

"I will accept these."

Li Gan said indifferently.

"Senior Brother Li, then I shall take my leave."

Hall Master Xu said immediately.

At the Chore Hall.

Steward Xu, who had been waiting, let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that his young master Li Gan had accepted the box.

Although it was a slight pity that he hadn't been able to see the young master in person, the fact that he had accepted the items showed that the young master still held the family in his heart.

Next, he would have to rush back to Baibi City immediately to report back to the master.

The gold banknotes sent by the Li family of Baibi City had no impact on Li Gan whatsoever.

In fact, all the gold banknotes were simply placed in a secret cellar used for storing valuables.

Just continue cultivating as usual.

A month passed by in this manner.

Inner sect, Divine Sword Hall.

The various peak masters and elders with real power from the seven main peaks were gathered together.

"Old Man Zhou, you usually stay in Yanmen Valley and rarely show your face. What brings you to the meeting today? I thought you never concerned yourself with sect affairs?"

A chubby old man asked curiously.

"This time is different."

Zhou Buping chuckled.

"How is it different? Isn't this just the selection for true disciples? You don't even have any disciples."

The chubby old man laughed.

Within the Divine Sword Sect, Zhou Buping had the strangest personality and was the least sociable.

"Who said I don't have a disciple?"

Zhou Buping snorted coldly.

"Fatty He, your information is outdated. Old Man Zhou took on a disciple over a year ago."

Someone nearby laughed.

"Ah, you took a disciple? Tsk tsk, that really is unprecedented."

The chubby old man said in surprise.

"The number of true disciples to be selected this time is provisionally set at one. Submit the lists of those participating in the true disciple selection."

Sitting in the main seat was the Divine Sword Sect Master. He merely glanced at Zhou Buping before speaking.

"Sect Master, why only one? Didn't two true disciples transition to elders previously? Shouldn't we select two?"

The chubby old man couldn't help but ask.

"This was decided after I discussed it with the seven peak masters. If we release two true disciple spots at once, it wouldn't be fair to those outstanding disciples who aren't yet qualified to participate in the selection."

The Divine Sword Sect Master shook his head.

The number of true disciples in the Divine Sword Sect was basically fixed; only the most outstanding would be chosen.

"One. Tsk tsk, the competition is going to be intense."

Someone shook their head.

The qualifications for true disciples had strict age limits, and selections were often held only every few years.

Once someone failed to be selected this time, they would basically have no more opportunities.